When to put plants in new tank?

[Biggen]

Hey guys. I have been looking around the forum trying to see if anyone has asked the question of when to actually introduce plants into a new aquarium and haven't found it yet. So I thought I would...

When exactly is the best time to begin introducing plants into a new aquarium? Actually, when can I start HEAVILY planting the tank? Should I wait till it is completely cycled or can they be added right away? Some of you may have noticed my other posts about setting up a 40 gallon tall (24") tank. I plan on heavily planting this tank but am not sure as to when the ideal time would be to do it.

I will be using an Eclipse 3 hood as the lighting source which uses T8. While it is a twin tube design, I can only go up as high as 18w for each bulb. Thus giving me 36w of light. Pretty bad... I am looking into some retro kits that would allow me to upgrade the lights to about 55w or so. But in the meantime I will only have the 36w to play with. What kind of plants do you think would do well in a 24" tank with only 36w of light to begin with. I will have about 3" of flourite as the substrate. I don't really care if they are slow growers or not.

 

[d9hp]

I think you should put in some fast growing plants the first week, then take them out after the cycle has completed and put in the ones you like.

You really cannot have any plants under less than 1 watt. I think that anacharis and some anubias would live, but slowly die.

 

[Biggen]

Hmmm...

I figured as much but not really what I wanted to hear...

I guess I will have to do something. I really love the looks of the Eclipse Hood with a SeaClear tank. I just wish Marineland would have put in some better lighting equipment into the thing.

 

[fergieturk]

Hi Biggen,
I just upgraded my Eclipse 3 hood with the retrofit 65 watt Smartlight. I'm not very handy or knowledgable in this area, but the retrofit was very easy to install. Okay, I had the bf help me - but none the less it was pretty easy to do. Here are some lights to look at.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?siteid=6&pCatId=3811
http://www.foryourfish.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/FYF-L-PCRFK1.htm
Of course I don't know if 65w is enough for your 40 g. Perhaps someone else has some other suggestions.

 

[Biggen]

Hey Fergieturk,

Glad to hear someone has had success with the retrofit of an Eclipse 3. I will probably go ahead and do the retrofit then. 65w should be plenty for me. I will just stick to the plants that need lower light requirements. Even with 65w that is 1.6w per gallon. Not too terribly bad.

Can you use any kind of lights with the retrofit or only a certain type?

What do the rest of you plant folks think about this? Would 1.6w per gallon suffice for some plants?

 

[fergieturk]

Can you use any kind of lights with the retrofit or only a certain type?

The retrofit I used had a PC light with it. I would think you could use other lights as long as they fit and are the right wattage. I can't be sure, though.

 

[Guest]

Would 1.6w per gallon suffice for some plants?

Yes for some plants, but noot too many. Also, that tank is 24" deep? you will have less light by the time it gets to the bottom. I'd try to get it up over 2wpg if possible.

Java fern, some cryptocornes, saggitaria or valasineria, banana plant, anacharis. These all grow ok/well in my 45gallon with 1.8 wpg. swords survive for a while, then croak.

 

[Biggen]

Thx for the info Corvuscoax. I was looking at this site for getting some plants: http://www.aquabotanic.com/shop/index.html . They actually have an assortment of 20 "hard to kill" plants. I was looking up the individual plants they sell in that assortment on the internet and noticed that most of them are fairly good beginner plants that do not require a ton of light.

I may go this route. My lfs only seems to sell sword plants and I know I don't want those. I guess when I get the aquarium set up I will give it a week before I plant anything. Hopefully the 65w retro light kit will be enough. If not, its fantastic plastic...

 

[Guest]

Yeah, I highly recommend the Hard to Kill packages for your wpg. I think you'll do fine.

Me, I planted my tank on day 1. Some people reccomend right away, others say wait and let it cycle. In the long run, I don't think it matters much BUT: if you wait to plant, don't run the lights without plants, it will give the algae a head start on your plants.

 

[shawmutt]

http://www.aquaplant.org/ is an awesome site that breaks down plants by certain categories like light conditions. A quote from the site: "you can grow most plants at 3/4 Watt per Liter [approx. 4 watts per US Gallon] but many others recommend much higher light levels" It also includes a link for calculating how much light your tank has. I have a 29 gallon tank with a 20 watt 50/50 bulb. My tank is a "black water" tank, which means the water is a murky tea color. Most plants would not live, but I have a java fern, and you cannot kill this thing. It's only weakness is that it must stay wet.

 

[Biggen]

Great. I will get the tank and other material in next week. After I set it up, I will go ahead and order the "hard to kill" package. I will only start with 20. If I think I can handle more I may get more. But I want to make sure that I can keep them alive for at least a month...